Mica delaminator

Abstract

A mica plate delaminator has a delaminating cylindrical chamber with a flat disk mounted on a drive shaft at a 65 degree angle to the shaft. A screw feeder feeds material from a hopper into the delaminating chamber and the disc is rotated at 600-1200 rpm to force the mica back and forth over itself and the clearance between the disc and the housing to a discharge, delaminating the mica plates to small flakes.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for delaminating mica and other mineral like materials comprising in combination a first cylindrical delaminating chamber;   a second cylindrical material feeder chamber having a diameter less than the diameter of said first chamber positioned in coaxial alignment with said first chamber;   a shaft extending through said second chamber into said first chamber;   a delaminator disc mounted on said shaft in said first chamber to divide said first chamber into equal input and output portions;   means for supplying material to be delaminated to said second chamber;   a material screw feeder fixed on said shaft in said second chamber, said screw feeder having a pitch and diameter sufficient to keep the input portion of said first chamber full of material to be delaminated as said feeder and delaminating disk are rotated by said shaft;   means for rotating said shaft to delaminate material in said first chamber;   a discharge outlet connected to said output portion of said first chamber so that upon rotation of said shaft, material fed into said input portion of said first compartment will be delaminated and forced into said output portion of said first compartment for discharge through said discharge outlet.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said material screw feeder has a unit displacement volume greater than one half the volume of said first chamber. 
     
     
       3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said displacement is between 30 and 35 percent greater than one-half the volume of the first chamber. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said discharge outlet is an orifice in said first chamber wall in coaxial alignment with said shaft. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the edge of said delaminating disc at one end of a first diameter is cut at an angle to the plane thereof equal to the angle of said disc to the axis of the shaft, said angle being oppositely cut at the other end of said first diameter and tapering to zero angle at each end of a second diameter displaced 90 degrees from said first diameter. 
     
     
       6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said delaminating disc is a flat, circular plate mounted on said drive shaft at an angle of 50 to 70 degrees to the axis thereof. 
     
     
       7. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said disc is mounted on the end of said drive shaft at an angle of 65 degrees to the axis of said shaft.